Leones del Caracas secured their sixth victory on Monday, November 9, defeating Cardenales de Lara

Leones del Caracas secured their sixth victory on Monday, November 9, defeating Cardenales de Lara 7-2 at Estadio Antonio Herrera Gutiérrez in Barquisimeto to climb into second place in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional standings.

The win improves the club’s record to 13-10, leaving behind a difficult stretch where they were 4.5 games behind the larenses. This streak represents the first time since the 2017-2018 campaign that the club has achieved six or more consecutive victories, when they linked seven wins between November 14 and November 21, 2017.

Monday’s contest remained tied at two runs apiece through the fifth frame before the visitors broke through in the eighth inning. Yonathan Daza executed a squeeze play that broke the tie and disrupted the Lara defense.

Caracas capitalized immediately on the sudden shift in momentum. Brainer Bonací launched his first home run of the season, driving in two runs and scoring twice, while Wuilfredo Antúnez finished 4-2 with a decisive double and two RBIs. The outburst powered the melenudos to a 7-2 victory.

Manager Lipso Nava pointed to mental toughness and clubhouse resilience as core drivers behind the six-game surge.

Speaking to One Baseball Network, Nava addressed the burden carried by the roster: Creo que esta cadena es una combinación de varias cosas. Había mucha presión, por las temporadas que venían arrastrándose. Eso estaba en la mentalidad de los jugadores. En varias oportunidades hablamos en los mítines para que no perdieran el norte ni bajaran la cabeza.

During the six-game winning run, the pitching staff has posted a 2.52 collective ERA and a 1.18 WHIP across 50 innings of work. Even so, Nava told Ignacio Serrano that avoiding free passes remains paramount: Hay que atacar más la zona de strikes. Y también tenemos que eliminar en la medida de lo posible las bases por bolas abriendo inning o con dos outs, porque son dinamita en esta liga.

On the offensive side, the club batted .324 with a .905 OPS during the streak.

Following Monday’s intense matchup, Leones entered a scheduled two-day break on Tuesday and Wednesday to reset the starting rotation and rest the bullpen. The club returns to action on Thursday for a four-game homestand entirely hosted at Estadio Monumental in Caracas.

The upcoming capital slate features a two-game series against Cardenales de Lara on Thursday and Friday at 7:00 PM local time, followed by weekend matchups against Águilas del Zulia on Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 4:00 PM.